In order to indicate all four types of a permanent residency typically is used a term "permanent residence", and sometimes a term "permanent residence permit".

Permanent residence for citizens of another EU member state and his/her family members is a special type of residence, as in contrast to other types of permanent residence in Slovakia, it is not given in authorization-based procedure, but it is based on the right to reside in the territory of Slovakia, which is specified in the international agreements and operates within the EU. The police may deprive citizens of another EU member state and his/her family members of this right only in very exceptional cases.

Permanent residence is the most desirable type of immigration due to the fact that it is granted for unlimited time period, not including the first type of permanent residence, and it is not easy for Alien Police to deprive the foreigner of permanent residence, and in practice Alien Police use this possibility hardly ever. In addition, compared to the conditions for acquisition of Slovak citizenship (nationality), there is no need to take an exam in the Slovak language, and Russian citizens are not required to renounce Russian nationality, as well as citizens of Ukraine do not violate Ukrainian legislation by obtaining permanent residence in Slovakia, unlike the case of obtaining Slovak citizenship with preserving the Ukrainian citizenship.

Permanent residence in Slovakia gives the following opportunities:

You can take part in regional elections as well as be elected;

You can perform several activities along, such as study, work on an employment contract basis and do business,

You can use the social benefits of the Slovak Republic, which are given by the state, for example, payment of compulsory student insurance, minor children insurance, or unemployment payments, retirement benefits, child benefits, etc.

You can submit an application for visa to other countries in the territory of Slovakia,

Permanent residence is a residence that brings the benefits to the citizens of Slovakia, and it is the final straight for obtaining the citizenship in Slovakia.

By the end of 2013, the Slovak permanent residence have had 56 699 foreigners, 45,357 of which were the citizens of any other EU member state and only 11 342 were third-country nationals, which is comparable to 0.2% of the population of Slovakia.

The number of third country nationals with permanent residence in Slovakia by the end of the year:

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

1.

Ukraine

2,118

2,235

2,447

2,546

2,720

2,838

2.

Vietnam

789

857

910

1,059

1,196

1,504

3.

Russia

961

1,033

1,152

1,220

1,328

1,426

4.

China

479

518

582

791

1,013

1,149

5.

Serbia

355

365

411

412

439

464

6.

USA

325

364

402

404

424

436

7.

Korea

709

628

609

474

424

400

8.

Montenegro

217

244

277

311

337

372

Croatia

248

259

276

287

303

---

9.

Turkey

96

111

134

149

167

179

10.

Egypt

71

90

107

119

138

152

Other countries

1,326

1,542

1,782

1,967

2,192

2,422

Total

7,694

8,246

9,089

9,739

10,681

11,342

The number of third country nationals with permanent residence in Slovakia by the end of the year:

Note: Croatia joined the EU in 2013 and is no longer a third State. In 2010, Egypt was inside the top ten on the number of residence permits in Slovakia, overhauled Japan and the Republic of Belarus that had been interchanged on the tenth position.

Positive decisions on the permanent residence in Slovakia for third country nationals over the years:

The police issue a positive decision on a permanent residence in Slovakia for 5 years in case, if an application was submitted by a citizen of a third state who is:

A spouse of a Slovak citizen with permanent residence in Slovakia or dependent relative in the direct line of a citizen of the Slovak Republic with permanent residence in Slovakia

An unmarried child under the age of 18 entrusted to personal care of a foreigner who is the spouse of a citizen of the Slovak Republic with permanent residence in the territory of Slovakia

An unmarried child under the age of 18 of a foreigner with permanent residence for 5years or an unmarried child under the age of 18 entrusted to personal care of a foreigner citizen with permanent residence for 5 years

A dependent child over 18 of a foreigner with permanent residence, who may not take care of himself/herself due to a long-term unfavourable health condition

If it is in the interest of the Slovak Republic.

Therefore, this type of permanent residence in Slovakia concerns, first of all, foreigners, who are a spouse of a citizen of Slovakia, and although it is called a permanent residence permit, it is not permanent, and is issued only for five years.

If an application for permanent residence is submitted by a spouse of a citizen of Slovakia, the police will interview both to find out whether their marriage is not a sham (fake marriage) and concluded only in order to obtain permanent residence in Slovakia. The police in this case ask very detailed and sometimes even intimate questions, like in the American movie. In practice, a lot of marriages are sham, especially when it comes to the citizens of African countries. It is also important to note that the police are obliged to deprive of permanent residence the citizen of a third state, who has obtained permanent residence based on a marriage with a citizen of Slovakia, in case when the couple has divorced within five years after the marriage.

The application for permanent residence in Slovakia may be submitted at the Alien Police Department and at the Consular department of Embassy of the Slovak Republic. In a similar way to a temporary residence, we don’t advise you to apply for permanent residence in the Slovak Consulate, as the diplomatic mission of the Slovak Republic, accepting applications for permanent residence, is obliged to interview the applicant according to the law, about which will prepare a written note, and it should be signed by an applicant. The diplomatic mission is obliged to send to the police a decision with a note from the interview as well as an analysis of interview with its opinion of the foreigner and suggestion whether a residence permit should be granted or not.

There is no need for interview in case of an application directly at the Alien Police Department, and if the police have any questions, it contacts our company as an authorized representative, and eventually our experts answer their questions.

A foreigner is obliged to surrender all the necessary documents together with an application for permanent residence in Slovakia, otherwise the Consulate or the Alien Police refuse to accept documents. If the Slovak Embassy or the Alien Police refuse to accept documents for permanent residence, they are obliged to justify this refusal in a written form.

The term for taking a decision on permanent residence for 5 years is 90 days. If a third country national or his/her children apply for permanent residence on the ground that it is in the interest of the Slovak Republic, the term is only 30 days.

The police will decide to grant a permanent residence for unlimited time period, if an application was submitted by a citizen of a third state who:

Has held the permanent residence for 5 years at least for a period of 4 years

Is an unmarried child under the age of 18 of a foreigner with permanent residence for unlimited time period

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Slovakia is entitled to issue a permanent residence permit for unlimited time period if an application was submitted by a citizen of a third state who:

Is a witness in legal proceedings if it is necessary for providing him with protection and assistance

Is stateless (a person without citizenship)

In cases requiring particular approaches

Based on the petition of the special service in Slovakia – Slovak Information Service, if permanent residence is granted to this foreigner – in the national security interests of the Slovak Republic

Holds tolerated residence at least for 3 years, and has been studied at the educational institutions in the territory of the Slovak Republic

A stateless person is a person who is not recognized as a citizen by any under the operation of its law. For this purpose it is enough to confirm the lack of nationality (statelessness) of the following states:

The state he/she was born

The state of applicant’s former residence

The state of his/her parents and other family members citizenship

It is important to emphasize that if the Slovak Alien Police will find out that a citizen of a third state who has obtained permanent residence on the basis that he is stateless, in fact possesses the nationality of any country, the Alien Police must deprive him of a permanent residence.

This type of permanent residence in Slovakia as a form of immigration mostly is used for the renewal of the first permanent residence, issued to a spouse of a citizen of Slovakia for five years.

An application for this type of permanent residence is allowed to submit only at the Alien Police, and the applications will not be accepted only in case of the absence of an application and passport. So all other documents you can surrender later.

The term for taking a decision on permanent residence for unlimited time period is 90 days. If an application for permanent residence is submitted by a third country national who represents or works for an important foreign investor in Slovakia, his/her spouse or children, the term is only 30 days.

If not including some exceptions, the police will decide to issue a long-term residence in Slovakia for unlimited time period if an application was submitted by a citizen of a third state:

Who has legally resided in Slovakia for at least 5 continuous years directly prior to the submission of an application

Whose long-term residence previously expired due to obtaining long-term residence in another EU member state, or who was deprived of long-term residence due to the fact that he resided outside the territory of the Slovak Republic for a period of 6 years, or due to the fact that he resided outside of the EU for more than 12 months, or a third country national who has received a long-term residence according to the next point, and who was deprived of a long-term residence due to the fact that he resided outside of the EU for more than 24 consecutive months

Who is a Blue Card holder for at least 5 years, and has resided in Slovakia as a Blue Card holder for at least 2 years directly prior to the submission of an application

This type of permanent residence in Slovakia is the most popular form of immigration for a permanent term, as it applies to all third country nationals who are not a spouse of a citizen of Slovakia, and the reason for applying for this type of permanent residence in Slovakia is availability of residence permit for at least 5 years. Mostly, the applications are submitted by foreigners who have a temporary residence in Slovakia for the purpose of business or family reunion. Five years is considered not from the date when the decision on the first permanent residence was taken or when it was received, but from the date of crossing the Slovak border after the decision on the first residence in Slovakia was taken.

The five-year term of a temporary residence, after which you are allowed to apply for permanent residence in Slovakia, includes no more than 6 consecutive months, as well as any 10 months, during which a citizen of a third state resided outside the Slovak Republic after notifying his absence in Slovakia to the Alien Police. Unlike other purposes of temporary residence in Slovakia, temporary residence for the purpose of study is considered to be half sized. The five-year term of a temporary residence on the basis of EU Blue Card includes no more than 12 consecutive months, as well as any 18 months, during which the third country national resided outside the Slovak Republic.

An application for this type of permanent residence is allowed to be submitted only at the Alien Police, and the applications will not be accepted only in case of the absence of an application and passport. So all other documents you can surrender later. The term for taking a decision is 90 days.

The police are obliged to deprive of a long-term residence in Slovakia a third-country national who, for example:

Has resided outside Slovakia continuously for more than 6 years

Has obtained a permanent residence on the basis of Slovak residence permit for 5 years and resided outside the EU continuously for more than 12 months

Has obtained a permanent residence in Slovakia as a Blue Card holder for 5 years and resided outside the EU continuously for more than 12 months

An interesting fact is that after a third country national has been deprived of a long-term residence on the basis of above three grounds, he has the right not to start the immigration process in Slovakia again, by submitting an application for a residence permit, but he can submit a repeated application for a long-term residence in Slovakia. And the Alien Police Department has the right to refuse only for the same reasons as in case of an application for the first long-term residence, therefore, it ignores the fact that the applicant was deprived of a permanent residence in Slovakia.

A possible rejection of permanent residence is not a reason for a deprivation of a valid residence permit at that point in time.

This type of permanent residence in Slovakia is based on one of EU's "four freedoms": the free movement of people, the origins of which lie in the Treaty of Rome (1957). Among modern legal acts the free movement of persons is governed primarily by European Parliament and Council Directive 2004/38/EC on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States.

According to the paragraph 5 of the Directive: “The right of all Union citizens to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States should, if it is to be exercised under objective conditions of freedom and dignity, be also granted to their family members, irrespective of nationality”.

According to Slovak law, a citizen of another EU member state has the right to reside in the territory of Slovakia with a valid ID card without any additional requirements or restrictions within 3 months after the entry into the territory of Slovakia. If a citizen of another EU member state wants to reside in the territory of Slovakia for more than 3 months, this right is reserved under particular conditions, the most common of which is the availability of funds in sufficient amount for providing himself and keeping his family members. "Sufficient amount" is not defined by the law, in practice it is allowed to show any account balance, for example, one euro.

A family member of a citizen of another EU member state, who is not a citizen of any EU member state has the right to apply for permanent residence in Slovakia together with a citizen of another EU member state, and automatically receives permanent residence at the moment of submitting an application. The Alien Police will issue a card within 30 days and at additional charge within 3 working days, and its validity period is 5 years.

In 2013, this right was enjoyed by 6450 citizens of other EU member states and 84 their family members who are not citizens of any EU member state.

An interesting fact is that, the Alien Police do not check whether the marriage is fake or not if a family member of a citizen of another EU member state holds a permanent residence, in contrast, for example, to a permanent residence for 5 years on the basis of marriage with a Slovak citizen. When you apply for a permanent residence for 5 years on the basis of marriage with a Slovak citizen, the police will interview both spouses to find out whether their marriage is not a sham (fake marriage) and concluded only in order to obtain permanent residence in Slovakia. If you apply for permanent residence as a family member of a citizen of another EU member state, the Alien Police Department does not ask any questions, does not make any decisions, as you are granted a permanent residence automatically at the moment of submitting an application.